Senate Approves Controversial Bills On Parkland, Dania

TALLAHASSEE -- Controversial annexation plans affecting Parkland and Dania were part of a roster of local bills unanimously approved on Wednesday by the Florida Senate.

With no comment, the Senate voted 39-0 to approve shrinking Parkland`s western border to a realigned Pine Island Road. Senators also agreed to allow Dania to annex a 300-acre area near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

The decision came after each measure sparked lengthy debate and a series of hearings involving Broward County legislators and local residents.

Other Broward bills involving technical changes at Port Everglades, the North Springs Improvement District and the clerk of the circuit and county courts also got the go-ahead from the Senate.

Each measure now goes to the House.

The Dania action comes in the wake of a legislative hearing in which the Broward delegation blocked a city effort to back out of an earlier agreement with Hollywood.

The pact between the two cities put the coveted Alandco industrial park in a territory earmarked for Hollywood annexation. Dania reconsidered the deal after reports suggested Broward County Aviation Department plans may make the 300-acre site less lucrative.

The Parkland proposal was equally controversial.The western border of the mostly rural city in north Broward would be moved east from the Everglades under the plan approved on Wednesday.

The plan was developed to settle a deannexation battle involving Coral Ridge Properties and millionaire landowner Hamilton Forman. These two, and other landowners, were angry over Parkland`s building policies and originally threatened to try removing 4,000 acres from the city. The current proposal affects far fewer acres.